When it came time for EvoShield Baseball Director Mike Cavassini to introduce Alex Bregman as the winner of the 2011 EvoShield SWAG Award, he deferred instead to a large video screen.

Cavassini and Bregman were in attendance at the Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings Awards Banquet, held the night of Aug. 13 at the San Diego Hall of Champions. Bregman, a PG All-American catcher from Albuquerque, N.M., was one of six national award winners to be honored.

When the time came to announce the SWAG award winner, Cavassini pointed to the video screen where Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham appeared via a taped satellite feed.

Beckham, among the first professional athletes to endorse EvoShield’s body protection gear, then introduced and praised Bregman, before signing off by ribbing Bregman ever-so-gently about his college commitment to LSU. Beckham had committed to fellow SEC member Georgia before signing professionally after the Chicago White Sox made him a first round pick in the 2008 draft.

Beckham’s ribbing was all in good fun, and Bregman proved to be a gracious SWAG award recipient.

“It was such an honor to be selected to the Perfect Game All-American Classic, as well as receive the EvoShield award,” Bregman told Perfect Game in an email. “The (Classic) was one of the highlights of my baseball career that I will always cherish and remember. And I’d like to thank EvoShield for the SWAG Award; it means a lot.”

Drew Klipp, who works in EvoShield’s Event Sales division, said the acronym “SWAG” was adopted when company officials were deciding what to name their PG national award. Noting that the term “swag” is often used in reference to much of EvoShield’s product line to define it as “stylish or cool,” Klipp said EvoShield decided to build off that term.

“To us, the word ‘SWAG’ stands for Style, Willpower, Attitude and Grit, four attributes that every leader on or off the field demonstrates,” Klipp wrote in an email. “We at EvoShield were thrilled to be able to present the first ever SWAG Award at this year’s Perfect Game All-American Classic Awards Banquet.”

Bregman does appear to possess plenty of SWAG.

Described in a PG scouting report as having “a very impressive offensive package that includes … a confident approach at the plate” and a catcher who possesses a 1.87 pop time that “is the product of his good physical attributes and arm strength behind the plate,” Bregman has just started his senior year at the Albuquerque Academy day school, where he carries a 3.5 GPA.

As a 16-year-old in 2010, Bregman was named the USA Baseball Player of the Year for his accomplishments as a member of the 16u National Team. Perfect Game ranks Bregman as the nation’s No. 4 catching prospect in the class of 2012.

“All of us at EvoShield found that Alex Bregman was the epitome of what we were looking for in the inaugural SWAG Award recipient,” Klipp said. “Alex carries himself like an elite-level athlete should, confident but always willing to learn more.

“The leadership qualities that Alex has shown throughout high school earned him the right to be a part of the Perfect Game All-American Classic and we were honored to present the award to him.”

Everyone seems to agree Bregman possesses a confidence and a self-discipline that belies his 17 years. Ryan Brewer, a part-owner of the Albuquerque Baseball Academy – an institution not affiliated with the Albuquerque Academy where Bregman attends school – spoke with Associated Press sportswriter Tim Korte for an article that was published in January.

“He never takes a pitch off, offensively, defensively and even when he’s not playing. And just to be clear, Alex doesn’t sit on the bench too much,” Brewer said.

“I just love winning,” Bregman told Korte. “Every time I go out there I try to win every pitch of the game. That’s what I love to do, just competing.”

Bregman told PG he is “very much looking forward to” his senior year in high school, but admits he already has an eye on Baton Rouge – regardless of Beckham’s feelings.

“When I was growing up I always wanted to be a Tiger and now I have a chance to live my dream,” he wrote in his email to PG. “I cannot wait to get to LSU and dog-pile in Omaha after winning a National Championship. Go Tigers!”

About Evoshield

The company now known as EvoShield, LLC was established in 2006. The initial team was comprised of a chemist, a cardiologist, and a group of former collegiate and professional athletes with a mutually unconventional idea; comfortable sports equipment. For the past 5 and a half years, this passionate team has been tirelessly designing a revolutionary material that will change the world of sports protection. Unlike today's primitive "one-size-fits-all" sports gear that is made of stiff plastics and bulky foams, Evoshield's body-conforming Evoshield technology raises the bar. Our high tech, lightweight material is a creative fusion of 5 layers of fiberglass resin that reacts to oxygen. When formed and fully hardened, the armor takes the impact of a ball, hockey puck, or other obstructive objects and disperses the energy through its 5 layers, lessening the probability of injury. Evoshield's 5 layer protection has been tested by a leading accredited sports science lab in the U.S., the same facility that tests the leading sports companies in the world. Our results speak for themselves, making us the evolution of sports protection. For more information visit www.evoshield.com.